If Things Were Different
by ifyouevercomebackx
Summary: "You knew that it would come down to this, Nick. Maybe not consciously, but deep down, you knew the second you decided to sing that song that we would end up right here having this conversation." Nick has to face Miley after his first performance of Wedding Bells at the Radio City show. ONESHOT.


My flight lands in Los Angeles and I look over at my brothers. Joe is fast asleep as usual, while Kevin is clutching Danielle's hand across the aisle. I watch them and think about how things could have been for Miley and I if I had manned up all those years ago and told her how much I really wanted her. Being back in LA means that I have to face her, and I've been thinking constantly since the show about it.

Joe's eyes open and he looks at me. "Are you okay, bro?"

The answer is no. How can I be okay when I'm back in the same city as the girl whose engagement I wrote a song about, making it blatantly obvious that it's about her? I know she's angry, even if she hasn't necessarily spoken to me about it.

"You don't have to worry about her, man. I'm sure she understands."

I know that she doesn't. Miley doesn't understand how hard it's been to watch them together. Miley doesn't understand how much I wanted to tell her I needed her that summer when she was filming The Last Song. Miley doesn't understand that writing that song was the only way to stop my heart from breaking completely.

"She won't hold a grudge."

But she will, because Miley holds grudges. She never forgave me for ending it the first time, and she never forgave me from walking away from her again. She certainly never forgave me for keeping her a secret, and she never hasn't forgotten about me ignoring her for so long. We act like we're friends and that nothing that's happened has affected us, but it has.

"If you just talk to her and explain why you wrote it, she won't be mad. You know Miley. She's the most forgiving person you know."

But she isn't, because as I said before, she never forgave me for what I did to her before, and I'm not sure if she ever will. She moved on with him and bringing up our past will have done nothing for their relationship.

I don't really notice as we get off the plane and into a waiting car. Kevin and Danielle sit together, and they remind me even more of what I could have had; what could have been if Miley knew the truth. I look away to avoid having to watch them be happy. I sound bitter, but things are hard enough knowing that I have to face Miley in LA.

It's a rainy day in LA. The city has this reputation for being sunny and hot all day, every day, but today is one of those days that makes me think long and hard about the first time I let Miley go.

The car eventually arrives at the house and I get out quickly. Joe, Kevin and Danielle soon get out after me and, once inside, tell me that they're heading out for a bite to eat. They invite me, but I really am not in the mood to make small talk when so much is happening.

They leave and I'm alone in the house. I sit in silence, staring blankly at some MTV crap on the television.

As I expected, the doorbell rings within an hour. I take a deep breath and get to my feet, knowing exactly what's going to happen once I open that door. I slowly make my way over and, after preparing myself for what's to follow, I pull it open.

Miley's standing there, just as I anticipated. I haven't been this close to her in so long. She looks so different. The rain has drenched her short blonde hair. She's not wearing make-up and instead of the shorts and tank tops she's been wearing lately, she's wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. I recognise it as one of mine, but I say nothing. I see tears streaming down her cheeks through the rain, and it breaks my heart. To most people Miley looks like a mess, but to me, she still is breathtaking.

"Miley," I breathe.

"Why did you do it?" she whispers. "Why did you write that song?"

I inhale and look away. Nothing I could have imagined prepared me for this. "I think you know why I wrote it, Mi."

"Don't call me that," she snaps. "You lost the right to give me nicknames three years ago. You can't just come back into my life like this and expect me to fall at your feet."

"Would you like to come in?" I eye the rain and look back at her. "You'll catch a cold out there."

"I don't care about catching a cold."

"Okay then." I wait patiently for her to say something, but she just stares at me, breathing heavily. "Did you run here?" I ask. "You seem kind of tired."

I didn't mean it to come out sarcastically, but I guess it did, because she spits out, "Wow, New York has done wonders for your humour."

"Please just get to your point, Miley. I've had enough insults to last me a lifetime from your fans. They're loyal, I'll give them that."

Miley says nothing. She looks away and down at her damp clothes, then pushes past me and into the house.

"You told me that you were fine with it! You had somebody else and I was _happy_, Nick."

"What, and you aren't happy now?" I ask, folding my arms and leaning against the wall. "Besides, I gave up my somebody else months before you agreed to marry him, so don't turn it around on me."

"You know that's not what I'm saying."

"Do I?" I shake my head and look away. "Where's Mr Perfect today anyway? Because you only ever seem to come to me whenever he's not giving you the attention you want."

"That's not true and you know it."

"Really? Because you broke up with that underwear model and ran straight to me, but once Liam made it clear that he wanted you, you jumped straight from my arms and into his." I know that I'm being cruel and bitter and unreasonable, but I know that she needs to stay away from me if she's ever going to move on fully, whether I want her to or not.

She shoves me angrily, making me lose my balance slightly. "Stop it! The only reason I went to Liam is because you didn't want me anymore!"

I take a step closer to her. "You made it pretty damn clear that he was the one you wanted, Miley, not me," I growl, my temper rising. Maybe I had been the one to walk away, but only because she was the one who didn't want me.

"I wanted you every second of every day," she shouts. "That summer, I wanted nothing more than I wanted you. Liam was the only one that actually wanted me!"

"You completely imagined that in your head, Miley! I called you every single day that summer."

"Until you found out that Liam wanted me."

I shrug. "I didn't see the point in fighting a battle that he had already won."

"If you had fought for me then you would have won hands down and you know that."

Concerns about Miley moving on fly away as I stare down at her. I want nothing more than to reach out and kiss her, but then it hits me - I can't do that to her. She's engaged and she loves somebody else now. I can't confuse her any more than I already have.

"I loved you more than anything."

I smile sadly. "I see you're using the past tense now."

"You didn't fight for me," she says weakly.

I shake my head. "I fought, Miley. It's just that I couldn't compete with him." I look away and sigh. "It was supposed to be us and you know that. It was supposed to be me you walk up the aisle to, and it was supposed to be me that you'll call your husband."

"Things didn't work out, Nick."

"But they could if we give it one last chance."

"I told you when you found out about the engagement that I can't do that, Nick. We all deserve better than that – you, me, Liam. Every time we're together we just end up hurting each other."

"But I love you."

"Love isn't always enough to sustain a relationship. We know that better than anyone."

I close my eyes and take a step back. Her words sting more than I thought they would. "I think you should leave," I say softly, not looking at her.

"You knew that it would come down to this, Nick. Maybe not consciously, but deep down, you knew the second you decided to sing that song that we would end up right here having this conversation."

Miley makes her way to the door once more and pulls it open.

"Did you like it?"

She turns to face me. "What?"

"The song. Did you like it?"

She turns around again and sighs. "If things were different …"

"I'll take that as a no." I feel defeated, like she's just ripped everything out of me and stamped on it repeatedly. I guess that's probably how I made her feel, but I know that she isn't doing it as payback for all the things I did. Miley may hold grudges, but she doesn't get payback.

She stays silent and takes a step outside. She looks back at me over her shoulder and says quietly, "I loved it. It's the best you've ever written."

She disappears without another word.

I know that it's dangerous and that it will hurt me, but her words give me a tiny little glimmer of hope. I loved her then and I love her now. She said it herself – 'if things were different'. I'm not quite sure how she wanted that to end, but it gives me hope that if things don't work out with Liam, she'll come back to me. And that's all I need: for her to come back to me. Because she's the only thing in my life that's worth fighting for, and now it's time to do just that.

* * *

**I wrote this last night. I read a couple of the fanfics about Wedding Bells and the ones I have read so far revolve around a phonecall. I think the situation deserves more than a phonecall, so this is my version of what happens with Nick and Miley after the Radio City concert.**

**May I just say that the concert was AMAZING. I stayed up past 3am on a school night and it was so worth it to see them together again performing all the old songs and some new ones too. **


End file.
